Sport

Vedanta Kalinga Lancers defeated Ranchi Royals 4-2 in their Men’s Hockey India League opener at Chennai. Alexander Hendrickx and Gursahibjit Singh scored twice each, while Tom Boon and Mandeep Singh netted for Royals. Lancers defended strongly to secure victory

Asian Games gold medallist Amit Panghal and Haryana’s Sagar advanced with contrasting wins on the opening day of the Senior National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida. Lalrambuat of Mizoram also won by unanimous decision in the bantamweight category

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is preparing with full strength to host the 2036 Olympics, while confirming the 2030 Commonwealth Games will be held in India. He highlighted reforms like Khelo India and TOPS, and praised Varanasi’s emergence as a sporting destination

Joe Root and Harry Brook shared a 154-run stand to take England to 211 for three before bad light stopped play on Day 1 of the final Ashes test in Sydney, which also featured emotional tributes for Bondi terror victims

P Prakash Rao will captain the State Bank of India Hyderabad Circle team in the All India SBI inter-circle football championship at Bhubaneshwar from June 5. The squad includes 18 players, with ES Shyam as coach and BN Kumar as manager

Sports Authority of Telangana chairman Shivasena Reddy said retired officials who served sincerely will be engaged to promote sports. He praised cycling coach and Deputy Director G Chandra Reddy for his 37 years of service, during which Telangana produced 225 national medallists

The Apex Council of Hyderabad Cricket Association has directed 17 junior cricketers, including under-19 captain Aaron George, to report at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on January 5 under the HCA Academy of Excellence plan. Aaron has already joined the Indian team in South Africa

Nalgonda defeated Warangal by four wickets in the Kaka Venkataswamy Memorial Telangana Inter-district T20 cricket championship, with G Prakash scoring 85. Khammam beat Mahabubnagar by 13 runs under the VJD Method, as Bunny and N Shiva starred with the bat

Defending champion Syndrela Das, top seed Divyanshi Bhowmick and Japan’s Miku Matsushima began their under-19 singles campaign with impressive wins at the WTT Youth Contender 2026 in Vadodara. Boys and under-15 top seeds also advanced to the knockout stage with comfortable victories

Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to send its team to India for the T20 World Cup citing security concerns, government advice and Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL release, seeking ICC to shift matches to Sri Lanka

Late goals from Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski earned La Liga leaders Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol, while Villarreal and Celta Vigo secured important victories and Osasuna held Athletic Bilbao to a draw.

Ahead of the fifth Ashes Test at the SCG, Australian and English players paid tribute to emergency personnel and civilians who responded to the Bondi Beach mass shooting, with a moving guard of honour and a standing ovation from fans.

India batter Shreyas Iyer will return to competitive cricket in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Mumbai against Himachal Pradesh after recovering from a spleen injury. His availability for the upcoming New Zealand series will depend on fitness clearance

Hardik Pandya smashed 11 sixes, including five in one over, on his way to a 93-ball 133 for Baroda against Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. His maiden List A century lifted Baroda to 293 in 50 overs

Indian driver Sanjay Takale made history by winning the H3 Class in the Dakar Rally 2026 Prologue, finishing 35th overall in Cars. Driving a Toyota HDJ 100, he became the first Indian to podium in the Dakar Cars category

Tamil Nadu Dragons defeated Hyderabad Toofans 4-2 in a shoot-out after a 3-3 draw in regulation time in the Men’s Hockey India League opener. Goalkeeper Prince Deep Singh saved two penalties, while Raheel Mohammed scored the decisive strike in Chennai

Resonance Educational Institutions, Hyderabad, felicitated student Padakanti Viswanath Karthikey, recipient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar. At 16, he became the youngest Indian and world’s second youngest to complete the Seven Summits Challenge. He now aims to join the NDA

World champion Meenakshi, Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina Borgohain and Amit Panghal are among 600 boxers competing at the Elite Men and Women National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida from January 4-10, 2026, the first joint event for men and women

Hanamkonda defeated Khammam by 21 runs in the East Zone final of the TCA Telangana Gold Cup at Warangal. Shashank Kashyap’s unbeaten century powered Hanamkonda to 230, while M Pavan’s 115 went in vain as Khammam managed 209

Army’s Ajay Kumar won gold in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final, while Karnataka’s Jonathan Gavin Antony completed a rare treble across Sub-Youth, Youth and Junior events. Tamil Nadu swept both Senior and Junior Trap Mixed Team titles at the National Shooting Championship

Sportive Cricket Club defeated Nizamabad by six wickets in the HCA Inter-district one-day league. Bhargav’s century powered Tarakarama past Sacred Heart, while St Andrews thrashed All Saints. Multiple teams recorded strong wins across B and C Division matches

Tilak Varma’s century and Abhirath Reddy’s 71 lifted Hyderabad to 286 before CTL Rakshann’s three wickets helped dismiss Chandigarh for 150, sealing a 136-run win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Rajkot, Hyderabad’s first victory of the edition

Vivaan Dave and Naisha Rewaskar saved three match points in a thrilling decider to upset top seeds Aditya Das and Ankolika Chakraborty and reach the U-15 mixed doubles final at the WTT Youth Contender in Vadodara

Shubman Gill will lead India in the three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara. Shreyas Iyer’s selection is subject to fitness clearance, while Hardik Pandya’s workload is being managed ahead of the T20 World Cup.